Anyone else feels sound and FX were kind of weak?

I don't know about you folks but I was a bit underwhelmed by the lack of artistic love in things like death animations and sound FX during the battle reports. The death explosions looked like something done in 2006 (oops) and sounds were kinda muted compared to the oomph that good old starcraft has. I'm hoping the finished product addresses things like this but man, I'm worried for SC2. I expected it to be a superior sequel in artwork as well.

Zergling sound like chirpy crickets, marines like their taking a crap, explosions look like something taken from an older game, many zerg units dissolve in blood rather than the detailed gore animations we expected. And don't start with that old "its for better multiplayer" stuff, heck what makes the game worth watching at all is the carnage as well as the skill involved, or would you rather watch 3D chess?

Giving commands amidst a gorgeous sea of explosions and death is as good a gosu skill as any other. Plus if the game is stripped down to the bone younger generations will simply pass it up for more visually appealing games. SC1 set a standard in artwork and effects for RTS games, why would its sucessor shirk from that duty simply because oldtimers would rather not be inconvenienced?

I agree that huge, screen-covering explosions are bad, nuclear missiles are about as bad as it should get, but wheres my battlecruiser death animation where the thing actually explodes instead of turning into a bright orange fireball?

 

Yeah i kinda know where ur at with this , My only hope is that by the time it is released the GFX might be a bit better and possible better sound ect , they were only Alpha's after all .
But i have to say graphics wise it dont look a lot different to the first game in my opinion.
Not sure if thats a dissapointment ! or Nice and familier.

 

Did you forget to put your hearing aid in?

For me I think the SFX in the SC2 are just right. Not every SFX or sound needs to be uber wow listen to me. You need the right balance of foreground and background sounds. Ones that are important and ones like background noise just there to give the over all feel of the game.

And also yes what you say about explosions has merit. But at times too many beaultiful explosions and deaths can take over and make seeing what else is happening in the battle hard. You need a balance. Beautiful enough to fit with the other visuals in SC2 but not too gaudy as to take over and hide the rest of the action on the battlefield.

 

Ill give a BR another round then, maybe i was having a bad day or something xD

You pretty much nailed it there. Yes beautifull and well done in an artistic sense, not gaudy michaelbay-ish explosions.

Fire up WoW and walk around a capital city, or take a flying tour through Zangamarsh, youll see a lot of lovingly crafted artistic details and amazing animations that have nothing to do with hardware requirements and everything to do with the design love that was poured into the game. This is what captivates anything from young teens to old grandmas when it comes to WoW, that sense of wonder about the artistic creativity that permeates the experience. I expected a similar sensation when watching SC2 in action but, although what i saw was good, that sense of wonder was missing. Where were those amazing little details? Why doesn't the marine get sliced in two by those blue psiblades instead of dying in 1998 fashion? Hasn't the world's premier game-making studio been working at this game for 6 years? Am I going insane?

Ah well. Perhaps I'm just jaded.

 

As models get improved upon, death animations have to be redone, more or less. As for the sliced marine example: where have you been?

 

Yeah I've heard its supposed to be coming. Have yet to see it in a BR.

 

you know that every br and video we've seen is from old builds right? i dont think they ever show the most uber build to anyone, usually the greatest build also has the greatest amount of bugs, glitches, etc. which is why they show off a stripped-down or old stable build.

i get your point, but in the long run you wont care about death animations when your trying to move your troops or produce stuff

 

I've seen both horizontal and vertical slices. They might not have been shown in BRs, but I have a vague memory of a zealot chasing a lone marine for a while ending with a horizontal slice, in a BR.